Poll: Ohioans overwhelmingly support use of medical marijuana, half support same sex marriage

By an eight-to-one margin, Ohio voters support the use of medical marijuana, while support for same sex marriage has reached 50 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released this morning.

The poll by the Connecticut-based polling institute, which regularly polls voters in key states, said that 51 percent of Ohio voters said adults should be allowed to possess small amounts of marijuana for personal use, while 44 percent were opposed.

The support for medical use of marijuana was at least 78 percent among every demographic group surveyed, according to the poll.

On same-sex marriage, 50 percent said they support it while 44 percent oppose it. Ohio currently has a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, but gay rights groups and their allies are working to mount a petition drive to place a new constitutional amendment on the November ballot to legalize it.

Support for same-sex marriage varied widely among demographic groups.

Sixty-seven percent of Democrats support it, while 66 percent of Republicans oppose it. Among independents, same-sex marriage has 53 percent support. Among women voters, 55 percent support it, while men are nearly evenly divided with 46 percent in favor and 48 percent opposed.

Seventy-one percent of those ages 18 to 29 favor same-sex marriage. Fifty-nine percent of voters over age 65 oppose it.

On the issue of abortion, 19 percent said they think it should be legal in all cases, 34 percent said it should be legal in most cases, 27 percent said it should be illegal in most cases, and 14 percent said it should be illegal in all cases.